Bruno Cathala had one heck of a Gen Con 2014! He had Days of Wonder release the eagerly awaited Five Tribes, and he and Charles Chevallier's new game, Abyss was released as well.

Charles and Bruno have collaborated one several classics, and once again, they look to have hit a home run, from under the sea this time, with Abyss!

In Abyss, you're going to be set collecting, to draft lords, to lock locations, all with the hope of being crowned the new king of the underworld! Do you have what it takes? Grab
your pearls and let's jump into the Abyss!

I love it when games surprise me. Sometimes though, they surprise me in a bad way. Thankfully, Lords of Xidit is not
surprising in that way. Rather, it will throw you for a complete loop, and make you smile the whole way around!

If you like Seasons (the game world Lords of Xidit) takes place in, or if you like games like Lords of Waterdeep (where you're
collecting aid of units to help you achieve objectives), or, you just want to learn how badly I can slaughter a name spell this "wonky", Lords of Xidit has everything you're looking for.

Come with me as I go through what looks like, on the surface, a lot to take in, but once you get to the destination, you'll
appreciate the journey all the more... let's jump into the world of Lords of Xidit!

Gen Con 2014 was amazing! With an even bigger vendor hall than last year, it was so easy to get lost among the massive pile of awesome surrounding everyone. Add to that some wicked
cool seminars, events, and demos to spend your tickets on, and it truly was the 4 best days in gaming!

So what did I come home with? Well, I spent more money than I should have (but then again, don't we all at Gen con?) and I slept less than I should have, but in the end, it was all worth
it. In this Crit List I go through everything I brought home, why I liked it, and what my high level thoughts are on the games.

If you were one of the nice people to say hi, come to our Reviewer's event Friday, or just give me a random high five... well, thank you. Meeting people in person and chatting about games
and our hobby is the most fun I have and I can't thank you enough! With that... let's game!

Star Realms was a very successful Kickstarter, and rightly so. Rob Daugherty, the designer, and owner of
White Wizard, has history with Ascension, so deck building is right up his alley. Spice it up with "Authority", or life essentially, and some amazing science fiction races and art, and you
get a winner!

Now, Star Realms, has been released for Mac, PC, and Android, with iOS pending like a hurricane off the south eastern coast of the US in April... and it's pretty slick! We took it for a
spin on the PC and recorded a fun game against the AI for your enjoyment!

In about a week, the entire board game world is going to go insane... it's Gen Con! Gen Con, the best 4 days in gaming, is the busiest, wildest, most fun time of the year for American, and
many travelling, board gamers. It's the larget convention in the US, and provides outlets for anything you're into board game, video game, and role playing game wise.

This year, there are a lot of new board games coming out, and many I'm excited about. In this new Crit List, I'm going to go through the games I'm most excited about, personally. Are
these games on your list? If not, what is on your list? As always, we're looking for great discussion here... and at the con, so if you see me wandering around, or stop by the
Arcane Wonders booth, say hi, it's always great to meet fans from all around the world!